Comparison of the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles and extract of <i>Acorus calamus</i> applied topically on surgical wounds inflicted on the skin of rabbits

Antibiotics are used for postsurgical wound healing purposes but unfortunately, resistance against them demands some alternatives for quick recovery. Sepsis of wounds is a challenge for medical as well as veterinary professionals. Nanoparticles have significant advantages in wound treatment and drug resistance reversal. This study was conducted to appreciate emerging alternates of antibiotics like zinc oxide nanoparticles and plant extracts in topical application. Zinc oxide is considered a good wound healer and its nanoparticles are easy to access. So, the efficacies of zinc oxide nanoparticles and sweet flag plant extract ointments were tested to compare modern and traditional therapeutics as sweet flag is considered a pure medicinal plant. Rabbits were selected for this study due to the healing properties of their skin. Wounds were inflicted on the thoracolumbar region and treated for 29 days post-surgically daily with normal saline and the ointment of zinc oxide nanoparticles and sweet flag extract ointment, prepared in a hydrophilic solvent. Wound shrinkage was observed daily and histopathological analysis was made and results were compared. Zinc oxide nanoparticles ointment showed the most satisfactory results for every parameter included in the study. No side effects of its topical application were observed. Healing was normal without any complications. The preparations of zinc oxide nanoparticles may help in the era of antibiotic resistance as topical drugs in the future

Synthesis, Antibacterial and Antileishmanial Activity, Cytotoxicity, and Molecular Docking of New Heteroleptic Copper(I) Complexes with Thiourea Ligands and Triphenylphosphine

A series of copper(I) complexes with triphenylphosphine and N-acyl-N'-arylthioureas were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and IR and NMR (H-1, C-13, P-31) spectroscopy. The thiourea ligands and their copper(I) triphenylphosphine complexes were screened for antibacterial and antileishmanial activities and cytotoxicity. The synthesized compounds showed much better activity as compared to glucantime and Kanamycin used as reference drugs. The thiourea ligands showed better activity than their Cu(I) complexes. The molecular docking technique was utilized to ascertain the mechanism of action toward molecular targets (GP63 and 16S-rRNA A-site). It was found that the ligands and complexes were stabilized at the active site by electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, consistent with the corresponding experimental results. The in silico study of the binding pattern predicted that one of the synthesized ligands, N-(5-chloro-2-nitrophenyl)-N'-pentanoylthiourea, can serve as a potential surrogate for hit-to-lead generation and design of novel antibacterial and antileishmanial agents.</p